KISSIMMEE, Fla. – Researchers with Naval Medical Research Unit (NAMRU) INDO PACIFIC received the 2024 Outstanding Research Accomplishment Team Award at the opening ceremony of the Military Health System Research Symposium (MHSRS) on August 26.
The award recognized the accomplishments of the NAMRU’S Long-Term Immunity Against Novel and Known Strains of SARS-CoV-2 (LINKS-COVID) Study team.
MHSRS, a four-day annual event which took place at the Gaylord Palms Resort & Conference Center, provided personnel with multiple forums to demonstrate the impact of research done by stakeholders of the Military Health System.
The LINKS-COVID team’s research addresses whether the DoD should recommend a COVID-19 booster that is specifically formulated to target the latest variants at the time the study was conducted.
“The DoD can’t force individuals to get the booster,” explained Capt. Andrew Letizia, science director from NAMRU INDO PACIFIC, “but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends any American over 6 months old should get it.”
“Our study looked to specifically address if the primarily young, healthy adult population that make up our U.S. Navy population should obtain a COVID-19 booster,” Letizia added. “It focused on a medical readiness question that can then be generalized to the civilian population that represents a similar demographic niche.”
LINKS-COVID findings showed that active-duty individuals who have not had a SARS-CoV-2 exposure, either through vaccination or natural infection, within 12 months of enrollment into the study had significantly lower binding and neutralizing antibodies against circulating SARS-CoV-2 variants, compared to those with an exposure in the past 12 months.
Capt. Jonathan Stahl, former commanding officer for NAMRU INDO PACIFIC, accepted the award on behalf of the team. Stahl handed off leadership of the command earlier this summer, ahead of his retirement after 30 years with the U.S. Navy.
“We were really excited to have Capt. Stahl accept the award, as he led the team,” said Capt. Nicholas Martin, commanding officer of NAMRU INDO PACIFIC. “We’re starting the next iteration of the study this month, and looking for more good things to come out of it.”
“This award demonstrates how the Military Health System recognizes the power of Navy medical research to address a contemporary research question,” Letizia said, “and obtain that answer for our forces when academia and industry aren’t incentivized to research this topic. With our focus on the active-duty forces, we are concerned about metrics such as lost duty days. This project helped fulfill our unique mandate for DOD research of improving force health protection.”
Lt. Huy Nguyen, principal investigator for the study, expressed gratitude to NAMRU INDO PACIFIC leadership, administration, scientists and other facilitators for their efforts on the study.
“Everyone contributed significant effort and time to the project,” Nguyen explained. “Everyone went above and beyond to ensure mission success, so it’s really humbling and satisfying to see all our hard work paid off and recognized by this prestigious award.”
Letizia moderated a breakout session on August 29, the final day of MHSRS. The session featured speakers presenting on recent findings in the field of emerging diseases of military importance, covering issues such as blood tests for infections, wastewater surveillance and drug-resistant bacteria.
MHSRS is the Department of Defense’s premier scientific meeting that focuses specifically on the unique medical needs of service members. This annual educational symposium brings together healthcare professionals, researchers, and DoD leaders for four days of critical learning, intensive idea sharing and relationship building.
Navy Medicine Research and Development attended MHSRS and participated in breakout sessions, poster presentations, lectures and manned booths in the exhibit hall. The eight Navy Medicine Research and Development commands, led by Naval Medical Research Command (NMRC), and consisting of Naval Health Research Center, Naval Submarine Medical Research Laboratory (NSMRL) and NAMRUs Dayton, San Antonio, EURAFCENT, INDO PACIFIC and SOUTH, are engaged in a broad spectrum of activity from basic science in the laboratory to field studies in austere and remote areas of the world to investigations in operational environments. In support of the Navy, Marine Corps and joint U.S. warfighters, researchers study infectious diseases, biological warfare detection and defense, combat casualty care, environmental health concerns, aerospace and undersea medicine, medical modeling, simulation, operational mission support, epidemiology and behavioral sciences.
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